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12/10/2018

Hair like plants go through transitions along with the change in weather. During the brutal winter months hair tends to get severely damaged from the dry cold air as well as hats and scarves which lead to dry, brittle split ends. But there is hope and it's free! So what's the magic cure for your hair you ask? Plain ole STEAM and body heat! Steam works magic on hair and skin to combat the harsh elements and helps to add moisture. It's imperative that we retain moisture but it's hard to do with just topical ointment and oils alone. This is exactly why the Baggy Method is simple but works perfectly to moisturize and add shine back to your winter beaten hair.

If you're unfamiliar with the Baggy Method, basically it's adding oil or a light leave-in conditioner to the hair and sitting with a plastic cap to retain your natural body heat. When applying the oil I like to concentrating on the ends working my way to the scalp. After applying oil to the hair and leaving a plastic cap on overnight will result in great results but over night treatments aren't necessary. Adding the baggy method to your nightly regimen two to three times per week, making sure you leave the cap on for a minimum of 30 minutes each session works perfectly too. You'll also noticeably hear the difference in your dry hair versus that of your moisturized hair. Dry hair sounds like straw rubbing when you rub it between your fingers or against your head. Where as hair that has the proper moisture does not have that same coarse sound. The hair follicles slide against each other without severe friction and experience less tangles.

In regards to your skin the winter chill impacts us each in multiple ways. The most noticeable being that it strips our skin of it's natural oils and is easily seen and felt on the hands and face. The colder temperature reduces sebum which acts as our skins barrier and protections by trapping in moisture. Perfect example of how our natural oil is severely compromised is the higher use of lip balms during the winter months. Your lips don't produce sebum because they lack sebaceous glands therefore you experience higher chapped lip in colder temperature. Topical moisture and steam are the only ways to combat severe chapped lips. For skin to benefit quickly from steam treatments it's best to carve aside 10 minutes twice a week to steam clean your skin. Also you'll benefit from adding a small humidifier in your bedroom while you sleep. Covering the hands and feet with Vaseline also works wonders! (covered here in an earlier post: Vaseline: save-your-money-skin-tip)

11/16/2018

Corporate life can be down right draining at times and there isn't a blue print to follow which makes it more difficult to navigate. It's been known to cause a few individuals to become overly stressed and outright depressed unless you know how to navigate it. There are rules to everything and corporate life is no different. It can be cliquish, some people can be outright evil and it can lead to you wondering why bother. However if you remember your main objective and devise a plan for yourself it's quite easy. Which is why I've decided to share a few rules that I've picked up along the way.

I've learned a thing or two along the years and it's helped me accomplish a lot. First... I'm not a college graduate but I've clawed my way up along the ranks to earning a six figure salary. I'm constantly asked by colleagues how I've established myself so well so I thought I'd share tips I've picked up with you. To begin my main objective for working has always been to earn the most that I possibly could while attempting to succeed in other ventures. Honestly I thought of my corporate career would be temporary while I followed my true passion with several entrepreneurial endeavors. To my dismay my entrepreneurial attempts never matched my success in the corporate world which seemed to come rather easily.

First thing is to know your goal and to stick to it. Remember I've always remained focus about why I'm working and that was for money. However I have changed career paths because some paths aren't worth taking if you're not happy. I find satisfaction in what I do currently but I still do it for the paycheck for my family. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people fall into using their job to pool for friends. The trick here is to find a few seasoned individuals that you can use to pick their brains and develop a mutual working rapport. That's not to say you may not enjoy a quick chat or two but keep it professional. In an office setting, it's too easy to fall into the office gossip circuit and that can harm your upward mobility. I'm not going to say that I have not met a few people who I've genuinely liked but I've always kept my personal and professional lives separate. This is rule #1! Especially when it comes to social media. Never accept a friend request from current coworkers. I don't care how many times you've hit up happy hour with them. They can take your personal post and use it as fuel for office gossip. This can be used to paint you in a unflattering manner so keep the two separate. If someone asks you why you don't accept their friend request kindly state your belief of not mixing personal and professional contact. It's okay to interact on platforms designed around your career such as LinkedIn but all other platforms should remain private. It's too easy now a days to have a personal post misconstrued.

10/25/2018

We've all at one point in time or another had the feeling we weren't progressing or moving in the direction we thought we would. For me, it's traditionally around my birthday when I start thinking about what the next year will bring for me. Some of the things I've learned in life that served me well is to remain true to myself, always be respectful even when my head may tell you otherwise, and to be as strategic as possible. To get to the next plateau in life you must make a bold move. However to be successful you will need to be strategic and plan out the smaller executable action items to achieve the larger goal. This is the blueprint for achieving the next plateau when you may feel stuck!

Remain True To YourselfNever compromise your core beliefs to fit in to what you may view as the norm. Whether it be your quirky personality, infectious smile or an against the grain way of thinking. Uniqueness is a great gift and if you have a different view point or a unique way of execution, then that is your slight advantage and should be used to get noticed. Not fitting in with the status quo is a strategic move all in itself as long as you know how to utilize that uniqueness to achieve your desired goal. It's all in the rarity of the execution! As life has shown us, there is always a small percentage of folks that achieve more than the masses and the reason behind that is typically due to the oddity within them. That oddity or what some may see as an oddity gives them a different perspective and allows them to approach things in a unique manner. Everyone has a uniqueness within them but we're systematically programmed to follow the majority instead of being taught how to fine tune our individuality and unique qualities. We're trained for automation and to follow what has worked in the past. Very rarely given thought as to how we can add improvements and those who break from that mindset are the innovators and self achievers within the collective.

Always Be Respectful In Spite of...This is one that may be the absolute hardest to achieve. It's easy to get sucked into the collective "shit show". Everyone is a master complainer in today's world. Sit at a light 2 seconds too long and someone is honking their horn. Look nice at work or actually know your job and someone is secretly talking behind your back and trying to discredit or belittle you for something. No need to get distracted over things that you can't change and you cannot change someones negative behavior towards you. However you are always in control of how you react! Kill them with kindness or ignore them because they aren't imperative to your goals. People hate when their efforts are ignored or better yet they hate when you win in spite of their negative attempts. I promise you that the best way to ensure that you win is to stay classy and keep doing what you're doing because it's not only being observed by your haters. Your respectfulness is also being quietly observed by others who aren't so vocal and malicious and those are the ones who matter. Not because they matter to you directly but because as you move upward you'll be surprised how many people transition to where you're going as well. You'll always run into someone you've known previously and it's best that they have a good impression on how you conduct yourself because that news travels too. It's HOW YOU REACT and HOW YOU CONDUCT YOURSELF that matter. Especially to you in the long run!

Be StrategicThe best thing you can do for yourself is to start a journal or invest in a planner to set goals! I believe this was the first post or close to it that I ever posted and it was certainly about setting goals for yourself. (found it: (your minority report) Large goals and small supporting goals are all to be written down! It sets you on a subconscious path to achievement without you even realizing it. You will achieve or get damn near close to achieving your goal in your set time frame. You just have to write it down and set micro milestone goals to support the major ones. This has worked for me 100% of the time! Even when I've doubted my abilities and the goals itself.

10/23/2018

I am not a product junkie but I am on a crusade to ensure that my skin looks it's possible best as I age. That is what led me to Microneedling or in my case derma-rollering which both are similar procedures. If you're interested in minor cosmetic boosting then Microneedling / at home derma-rollers may be the cheapest answer to your quest. Before we begin to delve further I must admit that these are two distinct versions of Microneedling that are used. One is done professionally by your Dermatologist with really deep needles and can often times show markings. This is what the professional Dermatologist label Microneedling. The other Microneedling is often called derma-rollering and is performed in the same manner but is more of a DIY method. Yes... the do-it-yourself method requires needles to the face too however it's not the painful injection type of needle most would think of.

The idea behind both methods are the same. It's a non-invasive alternative to plastic surgery that provokes the skin to produce more collagen which is induced with the small needles. Basically the process tricks the skin into believing it's been injured (minor injury) and encourages the body to mass produce more collagen to correct the injured tissue plumping the skin. However the pricks from the needles are so small that all I've noticed is minor tenderness which sort of feels like a light rug burn to the face. Let me clarify that the sensation isn't as intense as an actual rug burn however immediately after you do feel slight sensitivity which is what you're striving for. My sensitivity was a bit heightened too because it was my very first time using the derma-roller and I followed up with a vitamin c serum to wrinkle repair. Another important note is that I've started out using a small derma-roller at .25mm because I need to build up my tolerance. I'm also not looking for major changes to my skin. I just want to prevent laugh lines, crows feet and premature forehead wrinkles. If I were to actually see breaking in my skin from the derma roller or experienced any pain I would not continue but so far so good.

A lot of online reviews that I've read suggested the method to combat under eye bags. I'm guess it's great for people who aren't willing to undergo eye fillers and are looking for a more cost effect, injury free alternative to surgery. I did use it under and around my eyes so hopefully I notice a difference but it's not my main objective. I want to lessen my fine lines and wrinkles. The at home procedure recommends a treatment schedule of once per week working your tolerance up to eventually performing the procedure 2-3 times per week. I plan on sticking to a regimen of 2 times per week to see if I notice any subtle changes for 5 weeks. Now this is where the professional and DIY treatments vary. The professional treatment noticeably punctures which allows for a max of 6 sessions whereas the at home DIY version is not so intense. Both boast similar results for the skin that include correcting acne scaring, age spots, wrinkles and improvement to elasticity and uneven skin tone. However the professional dermatologist say that the at home results aren't the same as the in-office treatments but I believe that subjective. Dermatologist want to get paid. However I'll take the diluted version with its results over the 4-6 weeks in office procedure at about $300 per session.
The do-it-yourself roller runs about $15 and even if my results are minimal I'm okay with spending $15 over $1800.